Protective cover for automobile bodies



F. BARTLETT PROTECTIVE COVER FOR AUTOMOBILE BODIES April 14, 1942.

Filed Jan. 27, L940 INVENTOR 7M @131 I W ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROTECTIVE c03 1 gm AUTOMOBILE 3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to improvements in covers for automobiles but more particularly to a cover designed for protecting new automobile bodies from damage during delivery or transit by motor convoys.

It has for one of its objects to provide a pro-.

tecting cover of this character which is so designed and constructed'as to fit firmly and snugly from the front to the rear end of the car body to effectually guard its high finish from marring section is substantially rectangular in shape and seam-connected to the opposite side edges thereof are side wings or panels l2, I! which are shaped to extend over the side portions of the car body, their outer hemmed edges being convexly curved in plan, as shown in Figure 3, and blending into the side edges of the rear converging exand scratching by trees and other obstructions encountered along highways while. being convoyed.

Another object of the invention-is to provide a form-fitting cover for convoyed automobiles which is readily applicable to and removable from such vehicles and which is not liable to work loose or whip or flap in the wind during transit.

Other objects of the invention resid in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out i the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a motor vehicle showing my improved cover applied thereto. Figure 2 is a rear view thereof. Figure 3 isa plan view of the cover detached from the vehicle.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

This improved vehicle cover is so designed that it is practically universally applicable to the se-. dan type of cars for protecting their bodies against surface damage during delivery from the factory by convoy, which can be quickly applied to and removed from the body, and which can be repeatedly used by the operators of such convoys.

In the preferred form of the invention shown in the drawing, it consists in its finished form, shown'in Figure 3, of a single piece of flexible material shaped and cut as to provide a formfitting cover arranged to extend over the top, adjoining sides, windshield and rear end of the car body, as well as overthe hood and front fenders thereof. The cover is madeof a suitable weatherproof material, such as canvas lined with a soft plush material, the numeral Ill indicating the main section of the cover which extends over the top, adjoining sides, windshield and rear end of the car body, as shown in Figures 1 and 2,

and II indicating a seam-connected auxiliary section which extends over the hood, the adjoining front portion of the radiator grille and the front fenders, as shown in Figure l. 'The main,

tension of the main portion, whereby to snugly fit the curved design of the car body. The front or hood section II of the cover is secured by.

stitchingv or otherwise to the front edge of the main or body section ill,'the resulting reinforcing or joining strip l3 extending transversely between such sections and ngaging the car-bodyv Y at substantially the junction between the lower portion of the windshield-frame and the rear portion of the hood. The central portion of the front section II is of such dimensions asto exedges thereof are side wings or panels I4, H

whose hemmed edges diverge forwardly from the opposite sides of the adjoining strip l3 to span and extend over the front fenders of the vehicle in the manner shown in Figure 1.

The means for detachably securing the cover to the car-body preferably consists of a plurality of tie members or tapes l5, l6, l1 and I8 which are secured to the-coverand are adapted to be tied to various adjoining parts of the vehiclebody. The rear tapes l5 which extend from the main section ll) of the cover are adapted to be secured to the rearbumper of the car, as shown in Figure 2, whereby the rear portion of the cover is drawn snugly about the sides and rear end of the vehicle body. Thetapes l6 and II, which firmly drawn over the hood and fenders in snuglike fashion. The front attaching tape l8, which extends from the center of the hood-section of the cover, is adapted to be wrapped'around and tied to the front fender of the-car.

For the purpose of accommodating the usual ornaments applied to the frontportion of the vehicle-hood, I provide a longitudinal slit 20 in the hood section which is of sunlcient length to enable it to accommodate various forms of hood ornament on the diiferent makes of cars. In this connection the tape-engaging loops I! readily adapt themselves to receive the companion tapes l6 irrespective of the length of the hood on a given car-body.

The main section III of the cover is so cut and constructed inwardly of the seams 2| connecting the side panels thereto as to provide a snu form-fit with the car-body and thereby prevent a flapping of this portion of the cover by the wind during transit of the car by convoy. To this end, as shown in Figure 3, this section of the cover is cut adjacent its front and rear ends at the points a and'thenoverlapped in substantially triangular fashion to provide darts 22, thereby contracting the cover material at those 'points which overlie the defined curved portions of the car-body, namely, those top portions adjacent thewindshield and rear end of the car. In this connection it is to be understood that these slits or cuts are made and the material overlapped before the adjoining side panels I! are stitched in place. At the junction between the main section" and hood-section H of the i. cover and particularly atthat point where the said section Ill extends over the opposite arched sides of the car-body at the base of the windassures an overall smooth, snug flt of the cover to the car body and eliminates any whipping or flapping in the wind, thereby assuring firm anchorage of the cover to the car-body at all times.

I claim as my invention: 1. A sheet-like covering of flexible material adapted to be stretched tightly over an automobile, comprising a body covering section and an adapted to be stretched tightly over an automobile, comprising a body covering section including a middle panel with darts in its side edges to make it conform to the shaping of an automobile body and having laterally disposed side panels with convexly curved lateralcontours attached to said side edges, and flexible tie members attached to the covering for snugly holding it to an automobile.

shield, such section is provided with inserts or gores 23 which give added fullness to the cover at these locations and provide the smooth snug.

fit'desired at those points.

The central front portion of the hood-section ll of the cover is preferably likewise provided with an inwardly-extending cut or slit resulting in a triangular-shaped dart 24 which affords a smooth, contour-like lit across the girdle of the radiator. I

While manifestly simple and inexpensive in construction, this improved cover ailords maximum protection against marring and scratching from trees and other protuberances with which new cars, while being convoyed, are liable to contact during transit, and its form-fitting structure 3. A sheet-like covering of flexible material adapted to be stretched tightly over an automobile, comprising a body covering section including a middle panel adapted to extend over the top of the automobile body and the .windshield thereof and laterally-disposed side panels with substantially convexly-curved lateral contours adapted to extend over the adjoining sides of the automobile body, darts in said body adjoining the contiguous portions of said middle and side panels for shaping the same snugly to the contour of said body, and flexible tie members attached to said covering for snugly holding it to an automobile body.

FRED BAR'I'IEIT. 

